Marquette's Blue sought draft advice from Bulls' Butler

May 17, 2013|By Shannon Ryan | Tribune reporter

Vander Blue’s NCAA tournament as a junior was one of the most remarkable among college basketball players. He helped lead Marquette to the Elite Eight, a game-winning shot against Davidson, 29 points against Butler and a 7-for-12 shooting night to beat Miami.

In Blue’s eyes, the performances were proof he was NBA ready.

“At first I really wasn’t thinking of leaving at all until after I played in the tournament,” he said Friday at the NBA predraft combine at Attack Athletics. “I knew I was ready. Nothing was really telling me to stay in school. I felt like it was my time and I wanted to strike when I was hot.”

His decision to forego his last season of eligibility irked some Marquette fans and had some basketball analysts questioning whether it was the right move.

He is predicted in mock drafts to be taken in the second round, although Blue said he thinks a team might take a chance on him in the late first round.

Blue, who is 6-foot-4, is hoping his athleticism and breakout junior season will prompt NBA general managers to see him in the same mold as Russell Westbrook or John Wall. After playing off the ball at Marquette, Blue reminds teams that he played point guard most of his life.

He decided to enter the draft on the last day but not before talking things over with his former teammate Jimmy Butler, now with the Bulls. His advice?

“’Just go hard every single day,’” Blue said Butler told him. “’Don’t look too far ahead. Don’t look at what anyone else has to say.’ If he really felt it wasn’t right for me, knowing his experience in the NBA, he would have told me to stay.”

He could wind up a teammate of Butler again. The Bulls have scheduled him for a workout before the June 27 NBA draft, he said.

Blue, who averaged 14.8 points a game last season, said he shakes off criticism about his decision to leave Marquette early.

“I’m not really concerned about what everybody else has to say about my decision,” he said. “I know a lot of Marquette fans wanted me to stay, partially being selfish because they want the team to win more I guess. I can’t live for everybody. I can’t make everybody happy. It’s about me living my life and me having no regrets.”